Darkness Shines
by Vanessa Viking
Summary: For two years Esme and her companion a seventeen-year old girl, Kathy, are on the run from the Authority. When they are ambush in California they fled to one of Esme safe-house in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Their mysterious arrival raises questions in the small town. Eric/OC&Godric/OC. R&R. R: M. au. Read and see what happens!
1. Preface

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own True Blood or The Southern Vampire Mysteries characters. They belong to their rightful owners, Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris. I do own my original characters that are added to the Darkness Shines. _

_Also, this is work of fiction. Names, characters, places and any incidents are either my wild imagination or used fictitiously! I'll be not adding this **disclaimer** in my upcoming chapters. Once again, I DON'T OWN TRUE BLOOD!_

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_Revenge should have no bounds — William Shakespeare_

**PREFACE**

They took me away when I was five years old.

I witness the murdered of my parents.

They faked my death.

They trained me to become an assassin.

At first I didn't understand why they had chosen us.

We're special.

We're Mutants.

We have escaped.

Now I'm hunting them down one by one.

I'm not the only one. There are thousands of humans who will become a Mutant, and they still don't know it, but vampires are hunting them to train them to become a killer like us. Ten of us escaped from their secret government-funded organization known as Authority Academy and after two years of hiding I'm back to bring down the organization that took everything away from me.

I was happy that this man, who didn't show fear often was showing his fear. I never took pleasure on killing them, but they had hurt me, not only me, but also my friends that I made during those years they had me in their secret organization. He was in his knees, hands up onto the air, he looked like he was pleading, but I was controlling him. His guards were dead, pools of blood and goo in the ground.

"Esmeralda, this isn't you. You don't have to do this," his eyes moved. Following my movements, I rose from the chair, round the desk and sat at the edge of the desk. "You aren't a killer."

I grunted at the absurdity of the vampire, "You helped them make me what I'm today." The gun with silver bullets hovered across the room; stopping when it was in his forehead. "Are you pleading? It's not going to work. I'll kill you like your partner Mark."

He acted to be shocked, "You killed him?"

"You actually thought that having this guards protecting you it was going to save you from me? You know what I am capable of," I rearrange my black leather gloves, rising to my feet. "You know the drill, right?" I asked marching to him and stopped a few inches from the gun that was still hovering onto the air, clenching my Beretta 92FS, my preferred gun, I pointed it at his chest. "Any last words, Edgar?"

"You kill me, they will come after you," He threatened with a smile in his lips.

I accorded his smirked, leaning down whispering into his ear, "I'll be waiting for them."

I pulled the triggered. He hissed in pain, his fangs popped out as the silver bullets worked inside his body. Silver bullets didn't destroy them, but gave pain that I want them to feel. I moved back, swinging my hand and my stake flew across the room. He exploded leaving a bloody mess.

My name is Esmeralda Knight and I swore to bring down Authority Academy before they kill us.

This is my story.


	2. ONE

**Summary to Darkness Shines: **

Two years ago Esme escaped the secret organization that took everything away from her, her childhood, her parents, and her life. The Authority led the secret organization called Authority Academy, they are the most politically powerful vampires in existence. Esme is special. That's because she's a Death Dealer — an evolved human that has abilities — and she was trained in the system of Authority Academy to become an assassin.

Children with known abilities are placed in the system of the Authority, and taught to obey and fight the Authority orders. When Esme and another nine Death Dealers escaped from the system they are now the hunted.

For two years Esme and her companion a seventeen-year old girl, Kathy, are on the run from the Authority. When they are ambush in California, they fled to one of Esme safe house in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Their mysterious arrival raises questions in the small town. But when Esme thought nothing could get weirder in mess up life two vampires set their eyes in her. What will Esme do? Let them inside her life? Or choose to ignore the spark she feels?

What will Esme choose, revenge or love?

* * *

**Part 1:**

**HUMAN**

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**• ONE •**

* * *

Screams woke me up, shaking me from my dream, which had been about my past. I jumped out of the sofa, my hand tightened around the gun holstered to my hip. Early news flashed on the small TV at the corner. I blinked, rubbing my drowsy eyes, and gaze watchfully over my shoulder to the bed.

Kathy lie in her bed, shouting and thrashing. I turned off the TV, and with four strides was beside her bed. The moonshine bathed the room through the open window, cool breeze from the ocean danced in the room. Kathy black hair was tacky with sweat, she whimpered again.

"Kathy," I said, shaking her. "Kathy, wake up."

Her screams stopped, she wailed softly, "Declan." She wept once more.

I helped sit up, "Kathy, wake up, sweetie."

After a few minutes her eyes fluttered open, she bit her bottom lip to stop the quiver. A teardrop streamed down her cheek, her frantic breathing slowed. She leaned into me, resting her head in my shoulder. My arm wrapped around her waist, running my hand through her short hair.

"It's okay," I told her smoothly. "Everything's okay."

"I had the same nightmare."

"I know," I murmured, caressing her back. "You aren't there anymore. We are free now."

"No, we aren't." She mumbled.

I pulled back, staring into her green-hazel eyes. "Maybe we aren't free from the Authority, but we are away from them."

We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. Knowing, Kathy was calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp, it glows dimly. For some reason, Al was inside our motel room. Mrs. Hall cat, the owner of the motel, he leapt into the sill of the window, lazily licking his paws.

"You let him in?" I asked, nodding at the car. His head turned to me like he knew I was talking about him, hissing.

"Yeah," Kathy whispered, her eyes regarded me amused.

"He doesn't like me." I

She snickered. "He ... likes you."

"Why the hesitation?" I scowled at the damn cat. He languidly stared at me. I scoffed.

"Don't feel bad, Al, is a good cat. Right, Al?" He jumped from the window and leapt to the bed purring at Kathy.

"Yeah, I very doubt it." He purred favorably to Kathy. "He without problem forgets that I pay for this room, and he's living rent free."

Kathy laughed, my teasing not reaching her haunted eyes. She shook her head. "I need a glass of water," she swung her legs over the bed. Al turned back to the sill of the window peering out to the street.

Kathy strode to the small kitchenette across the room, Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Kathy was younger Death Dealers that escaped with us two years ago. Our two years together was rather comforting. Our families already thought we are no longer alive. There was no way to fix something that our families believed of our decease.

They would freak-out when they saw us again, years of not seeing us in their lives, and walking up to their doorstep without knowing what to tell them of what had become us during those years of abduction. I could see it, their faces grim, not believing anything we had to say. It was too much. I couldn't do it. I couldn't have a normal life with them in any way, Death Dealers or the Authority would make us ran away from them. They would be in danger.

It wasn't easy to go back to our normal human life after Kathy and I had fled from the headquarters of the Authority. But I had forgotten what "normal" feel like. I didn't remember what I feel like to have family gatherings, Christmas, Halloween, a normal school, everything of living a normal life. What we trained to become was hard to let go. Always there in the back of my head, reminding what I had done and become because I was born different.

I had envisaged of seeing my parents again, but the only memory I had of them was before they were pitilessly assassinated when they Authority came to my house to take me. To this day, their demise still haunted me, knowing they had perished because I was different, just because the Authority decided to kidnap children that were born with abilities.

Evolved humans trained like Kathy and I were known to a few vampires as Death Dealers — the ones that see us destroyed them, neither humans nor vampires know we existed —. The Authority had both vampires and humans working for them to carry out their law combined with the Death Dealers, the most powerful mutants. When a vampire broke the law, the Authority took action, and they gave commands to any Death Dealer in the district to finish the job.

Death Dealers that escaped two years away from Authority Academy didn't have a life or future with their families after our escaped, once taken away from our family; we belong to the Authority. We knew they would come looking for us if we returned to our families. The safe play was to go into hiding, always looking over our backs.

Al hissed made my thoughts stopped. My head snapped to the window, I stood up, sauntered to the window and peer out with Al. He gazed me warily, scooted over a little, and then gazed outside to whatever he had hissed.

Breeze played with my hair as I leaned out. The road was dark and noiseless. It was over three a.m., most of the folks renting in the motel were slumbering. The motel room we rented for the past five weeks sat on the seashore. It was cozy enough to move here close to the beach, and little stores. Kathy in some way persuaded me to take a trip to the beach. Across the road, a street light flickered. It was light enough for me to make out shapes of cars and buildings.

And a man watching me.

_Fuck!_

I back off the window stunned, my mind spun pondering our escaped or how to fight if we came to that. There was that hunch of knowing it was a Death Dealer. Al growled, soared from the window to the street. A figure stood beneath the tree in the yard, about teen feet away, where he could effortlessly see our room. The shadows sheltered him so well that I couldn't make out any of his features, except for his height. He was tall. He stood there for a minute, and then stepped back disappearing into the darkness.

I spun to the bed, tugging on a pair of jeans, and almost falling. Once my jeans were on, I slipped on my coat, and combat boots. I hoisted the shoulder bag over my shoulder. There was another pistol, a Beretta PX4, loaded for Kathy inside a drawer. I slid it into my hip holster. I grabbed Kathy's clothes, bag, and sprinted to the kitchen.

Kathy was rummaging through the refrigerator, already imbibing orange juice. "What's go on?" She spun, leaning her hip into the counter. She frowned, seeing her clothes in my hands.

I pitched her clothes. She had time to catch them. "Change now. We've to go."

She regarded me baffled, and then a moment later, she understood. Her eyes widened. "You are sure?"

I nodded. "Hurry up. We don't have much time."

"It is a vampire?" Kathy asked, pulling on her jeans and sweater.

I shook my head, "No."

"A Death Dealer?"

"Perhaps. Come on. We've to move quickly."

"What's the plan?" Kathy questioned, putting on her shoes.

"I have a car three blocks away from here." She nodded at my plan. She flung her bag across her chest.

We stepped outside to the cold night air. I clutched Kathy forearm, lugging her where I had the car. I had to catch hold of Kathy a few times to stop her from falling. Kathy dared around with terrified eyes, I almost stopped us to tell her to calm down, but I had to keep my mind focus in our escape, glancing over streets and cars to make sure there weren't any surprise attacks. There weren't people out in the town at this time; everyone was doubtless drunk for partying all night at the closest nightclub. They wouldn't know why two girls were running like mad down the streets. Our footfalls pounded in the pavement.

"Esme ... what are going to do if they catch us?" Kathy whispered.

"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."

"They've found us..."

"They found us before they didn't catch us then. We'll drive to our next safe house."

I picked up their footsteps getting closer. Terror rose inside me, at the thought of Kathy getting caught and shipped back to the Authority Academy. I didn't care what happened to me, I always already in that path, someday I was going to die and there was no way to tell which way, the Authority or a Death Dealer. Kathy had faith in me. I made it sounded simple, I always did, even though there was nothing normal being on the run from the people who had kidnapped us when we were children, and trained us to become assassins.

"They aren't far," Kathy said.

The pursuing footsteps grew louder, nearer.

"We can make it."

I saw him before even he jumped in our track. I came to a screeching halt. Kathy collided into my back. A man walked directly into our path ten feet away. I push Kathy back by her arm. He wasn't older than me, maybe mid-twenties, and tall, dark hair, and he wore black, a vest, a belt pistols holstered into his hip, and wooden stakes. He was only a complication keeping us away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, our pursuers had caught up. Another three younger Death Dealers stood armed, circling us like tigers ready to slaughter.

Kathy acted out of instinct. She pressed closer to me, tightening her hand in my arm. Mr. Death Dealer was a skilled Death Dealer, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. Mr. Death Dealer had the telltale of the Authority branded on back of his wrist, a winged vampire-like symbol with a shaped of blood with his born of day beneath it: 1979, just like me.

"I knew it was you." One of them said. He didn't waste time, he swung to punch me, but I easily ducked him, grabbing his arm, twisted it behind his back, and smash my chest into his back to restrain him to the earth. He struggled to fight my ability. Another Death Dealer lunged at Kathy, his fist balled to strike into her face, she was quick, she jumped out of his way and his fist smashed into the wall. There was a sickening crack, he screamed. I smiled proudly at her.

A blast of wind knocked Kathy to the ground. Her forehead hit the surface, she winced, and blood trickled from her forehead. It was hard to tell from whom had come. My hands clenched, I gazed over to her. Ire stirred inside me, I flung them to the ground, my hand clenched and they grunt in pain. I helped her rose to her feet. Her legs were weak from the smacked. Again, I clenched my fist, their faces red struggling to breathe.

"Esme," Kathy whispered, she clasped her hand around my forearm. Panic was clear in her voice. "Don't," I whipped my head to her, "Don't kill them."

Carnage them never crossed my mind. _But course what do you think she thought? You're an assassin, you had murdered_. Never slain humans or Death Dealers, it had come to that a few times, but because I didn't have a choice. I released my fist, not lifting my psychokinesis. Relief crossed over Kathy face. Was she relief that I haven't killed them? When they would kill us without a second thought? That had come sort of second nature to us, surviving from vampires and Death Dealers that had a manhunt for us now.

"You bitch!" One of them bellowed, they were still immobilized to the ground. Kathy stared over the men, still struggling to fight my power.

I rummaged through my bag, plucked a small glass bottle with crystal clear drug. I walked to the men, forced open their mouths and made them swallowed. "Sleep tight," I patted the last man cheek. "We have twenty minutes tops." I said, standing up and put the bottle inside my bag.

Six minutes later, and we were walking into an underground parking lot. Kathy crouched down to balance her breathing, and she rose to her feet. She ran to me and hook her hand around my forearm. I curse under my breath, she smiled. It was a miracle I hadn't faint on the sidewalk, the use of our abilities depleted our blood sugar. I sought my iPhone from my coat, pushed a button and headlights from a Jaguar blinked ten feet way.

Kathy tendered over her bag. Dried blood was in her left eye down to her nose. I tossed them in the backseat, grabbing my flask from my inner pocket of the coat and sipped ravenously, the aftertaste of sweet drink linger in my tongue, but I was feeling better. A stream of white liquid ran down from the corner of my mouth, I wiped it with the back of my hand.

"Feeling better?" Kathy asked me once I guzzle half the flask.

"Yes," I said, beckoning her to take a seat at the hood of the car. Kathy marched over and dropped on the hood. I clean her injury and patch it. Kathy climbed the car, turned on the radio, and waited from me.

"How do you feel about moving away?" I asked, climbing the car, closing the door.

"I'm used it." She shrugged. "Where we're moving?"

"Bon Temps."

"Isn't that your hometown?"

My replied was short, "Yeah."

She nodded. Her eyes out in the streets and buildings. "Sounds good."

Two hours later on the road, we are out of La Jolla area. I stopped to refill gas. Forest everywhere, the moonlight and stars was shimmering overhead, creating a peaceful gazed. Kathy was quiet. I pulled on the next exist, the clerk almost asleep, to refill gas and bought appetizers. Kathy wasn't in the car when I returned. I scrutinized over the isolated parking lot. She was standing at the edge of the forest next to a green dumpster with graffiti and posters, her shoulder bag clenched to her chest.

Inaudibly, I sauntered over her, standing behind her. "What is troubling you?" Kathy revolved with dread eyes, a hand over her chest. My human eyes didn't let me see beyond two feet, the forest bathed in darkness, too spooky to meander alone. "Jesus-C, it's just me."

Kathy shook her head, her hand dropped from her chest. "You are going to give me a heart attack, woman." She plucked her wallet from her back pocket of her jeans. "Time for the burned?"

"Yes. You want to do it, or you want me to?"

"I will do it."

Kathy had already made a fire pit of rocks on the ground. I pulled out my wallet, discarding checkbooks, credit cards. Kathy already had the passports, birth certificates, her credit card inside her bag and dumped them on the ground. All the documents and materials related to our identities back in California, all forged and manufactured. Kathy grabbed the gas can from the ground, and she poured gas over the small pile. She lights a match and dropped it, and the pile kindles. As we always do, we stood there watching the fire.

"What are your thoughts of the name 'Katherine Delgado'?" She asked, turning her head to look at me.

"You sure about it?" I kicked a rock into the fire pit. " I mean, do you want to use your first name? You haven't done that before."

She lowered her eyes, "I always changed it," her voice was hurt. "But having in paper this time ... it gives me something normal of my life." She lifted her face, a slight smirk spreading. "And I had never use Delgado before; it has a nice ring to it."

I smiled back, knowing it was hard for her to get used to moving and running away all the time. "Alright," I said. The fire had died out. "I will create your forms when we stop."

We walked back to the car and climbed. I pulled the car from the parking spot, driving exit toward I-8, and our new started.

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**QUICKIE Author's note:**

_Y'all, I have a quick announcement!_

_I will write the current ten chapters to Esme point of view, they are written in third point of view, but I kind of suck at it. So, that means it going to take a while to write to Esme POV! And also means that I am not updating the story until I am finish writing them, but I hope you, my readers will understand? I will update second chapter soon, as I am working on it._

_Thank you to all that had review, favorite, and follows!_

_Be patient and wait... Readers, Darkness Shines will be update soon._

_XXX_

_Vanessa_


	3. TWO

**• TWO •**

Amongst halts in breakfast, lunch, and dinner I finished Kathy forged documents. Kathy was still settled with her new name, Katherine Delgado. During our check-in on a small motel, I finished my documents also, Kathy had helped choose my last name, now I was McGill. There was no change in our story, Kathy parents had died, and I was her aunt. We couldn't kin in any way. We didn't have related looks anyway. Kathy was beautiful, petite, mixed green-hazel eyes, almost four-six. She's built, but nothing that's over the top just a tone body, as she exercises all the time. Her black hair cropped to her shoulders with a blue streak, fair skin marginally tanned from her days at beach in California.

I am pretty too, trained to use that as my advantage during jobs I did for the Authority. My chocolate eyes match my wavy brunette hair that tumbled to my chest with olive skin that matched with any color. I stood five-nine, fit body, not something that's over tone body, but slightly tone body, and my bosom sizable. Kathy had always told me that men like to ogle me when we were out. I don't know what these 'men' saw in me when I always wore leggings or jeans, tank tops, and any leather jacket, and combat boots.

My fingers pass over the keys of the laptop, my dish of a burger and french-fried potatoes untouched. We had stopped in a small Deli on the outskirts of Shreveport for a later dinner. Kathy reached up to the 3D artwork of a fish and pulled the cord. Its tail wiggled and the mouth moved up and down and an awfully maddening laugh played.

I pulled the string to stop it. "If you pull that string one more time I am gonna murder you."

Kathy deadpanned, pulled the cord again. I glared, allowed the maddened laugh to play. She snickered. "Come on fella, you need more merriment in your life." I gave her another dirty look. She exhaled, rolled her eyes. I resumed my eyes to the laptop screen, to finished touch ups to our documents.

Five minutes later, Kathy nudged my leg beneath the table. I gazed up from the computer screen. "What?"

"You haven't touched your food. You gotta eat something." Her dish was clean, I had always wondered how could she eat a lot of food, but I had taught her a few things, now she always trained alone.

"I am not hungry." I shut the laptop lid, shoved my plate aside. "You ready to go?"

She puckered her lips, angry. She stumbled back into the booth. "I am not getting my ass up until you eat something." An elderly woman, who seated next our booth, scowled at us. I raised my brow at her; she said something under her inhalation. We did an eye match until she gazed away, like she had never heard blasphemies.

"All right, I am not playing games." Standing up, I threw the laptop and book inside my brown messenger bag, a gift from Kathy last Christmas. "Get up and let's go."

Kathy regarded me with worried eyes. The last thing I wanted was to worry her. "I am serious, Esme. You didn't eat this morning."

I shrugged. "I didn't have time, sweetheart. I had to call the school early."

"What happened?" She straightened, resting her arms on the tabletop, her brow furrowed.

"They believed our unexpected relocation story and they wished the best for you, Ms. Delgado."

She beamed and her body trembled with an inaudible laughter. "Nice try, Ms. McGill, sit down and eat."

_Fudge! _Exhaling, I waved the waiter and asked her to wrap my food to go. I paid the bill, rose to my feet and grabbed the white bowl and messenger bag. Kathy stood up, leer amiably. "Was that so hard to do, Ms. McGill?" She said behind me.

I peered over my shoulder, frown. "Shut up." I push the door opened and held it from Kathy.

She sneered wider. "Or what are you gonna do?" She asked. I typed my code in my iPhone and unblocked the car.

"I would kick your ass." I threatened, climb the car. I chucked the laptop bag and food bowl into the backseat.

Kathy hopped in. "That isn't fair. You had taught me everything I know, and you would know my next move." She pointed out defeat.

I pulled away from the parking spot, drove into the traffic. "Well, life isn't fair all the time, sweetheart."

Around eleven PM, we were driving into Bon Temps. Kathy stopped playing the game in her iPhone. It was dark, a few folks gazed our away as they walked off bars, but most of them were doing their business. Yet, they wouldn't see who was driving or who was inside the car, the windows tinted and bulletproof wouldn't let them see inside. Signs of bars and diners blinked 'open' as we drove through.

The house was on the outskirts of Bon Temps, farm-style, twice bigger than the house back California, three stories. The first floor was a private apartment with a living room, a TV that took most of the wall. Bookcases mounted on the wall beside the TV from floor-to-ceiling filled with books and figurines, a bathroom, a room, and a kitchen. The second had three rooms with their own bathrooms, a living room, and a study filled with bookcases and books, and an empty desk. The third floor was loft-style and it was empty with a locked door.

Kathy stood slouched against the railing of the veranda. I unloaded duffel bags and metallic weaponry suitcase from the trunk of the car. We had twenty minutes since our arrival. My boots caked with mud smoothed on the ground, marginally light rain and rumbling cracked overhead. My brown leather jacket was glassy and my hair damp from the drizzle. We did a quick work of carrying the bags and suitcase inside the house. Sluggish, Kathy slumped into the bar stool.

I kicked my boots off in the back porch, cleared my throat and gazed at Kathy with fretted stare. "You okay?"

Kathy avoided my eyes, her barefoot dangled from the counter, and she looked out the window. "Yeah, I am fine, just a little tired."

Sighing, I frowned, knowing she was deceitful, but I wasn't going to push her to share what was troubling her. "Do you remember what we talked in the restaurant?" I oppugned with an unwavering stare.

She spun her head with a tiny smile. "Kathy Delgado, seventeen-year old, you're my aunt, and you work at home, if I'm asked what: "You're a graphic designer." My parents pass when I was fifteen, Ma was a dance teacher and Pa was a math teacher. I'm only child in their marriage."

"Good," I approved with a nod.

After our short conversation I left, my arms full with weapons suitcases. The suitcases were push beneath the bed. Kathy knew where to find them and how to use almost all the weapons inside. Even though, I didn't like the way she sometimes talked about getting on the field and fight. That always made me livid. Why did she say things like that? Why would she choose to become a murderer when she had the choice to have an ordinary life? She didn't merit or anyone to have the life I had, killing vampires wasn't a normal living. Most of the time when we were ambushed , I didn't care what happened to me, Kathy safety was my job, and as long as she wasn't registered with the Authority tattoo, she was free_. A few more months and she will go to college and have a normal life._

I found Kathy in her room. Silently, I stood on the door, leaned my shoulder into the door frame. She was seat at the sill of the window, her knees to her chest, watched the drizzle outside. Her hair was damp and changed into her nighties, red tank and short with a flower pattern. I clear my throat. Kathy jumped from the sill, a hand over her chest. She twirled around, scowl.

"Your gash needs re-patched," I weaved the kit. Kathy nodded and flopped into bed. I clean her wound and re-patched again.

"Thanks," Kathy murmured, her index finger stroked the small piece of tape.

"Yeah, you welcome." I gave her the kit. "You need to clean it tomorrow." She nodded, take the kit. "I am down the hall, if you need anything. Sleep tight."

"Night."

I closed the door, my back flat into the door. My eyes tight shut, I opened my eyes and walked to the bed. Thunder light shone through the vast window of the room. The room had a view of the road that led to the house. A desk with two computers was push to the wall, the first computer showed the backyard, the road, and veranda of the house. The second had the internet opened with a window of Kathy photo from California.

A king size bed was push to the right of the room with two night stands with lamps beside the bed, and a black mat beneath the bed. The two doors of the closet and the bathroom closed. I flopped down into the bed, ran my hand over my drowsy face.

I didn't know how to feel. I was back to my hometown, why I was feeling nothing? But I was frank with myself, I was empty inside, I wasn't feeling anything. My maltreated mind didn't recall my parents, a part of me felt remorseful that I didn't remember my kin or anything about my childhood. It was like I had grown comfortably numb with my destiny since I was a child. But my mind was incessantly plagued with periods of the Authority, always there in the back of my mind reminding what I was capable of doing.

There was always an impelling for revenge to run off and abolish the Authority and the outrageous academy. The Authority was hurting people kidnapping their kids away from their parents and life. I could do it, but I wasn't a selfish being to leave Kathy living on her own, just not yet. She had become a sister and I wasn't going to something that could wait just four months. _I will come for you,_ I thought. I rose to my feet, shut down the memories. I collapsed on my chair, and stayed most of the night working on hacking into Kathy's school in California, removing every picture in their website. At sunrise, I went to bed.

In my sleep, there was Nan.

I was on a table. My wrists and ankles bound with leather cuff, another through my belly. White walls stared back at me. My sight was foggy, my brain sluggish, there was no coherent thoughts in my head and I knew I was drug. I open and close the eye, a tall, bony, vampire, wearing a doctor's coat, came into focused. His bony hand holding a syringe filled with red liquid.

Nan slouched near the door with treacherous eyes, displaying fangs.

_No_. I wrenched my hands. "Easy," the doctor uttered. "It'll pinch just a little, little bird."

_No_. The Doctor jammed the syringe into my arm, I screamed, my body twitching as fire spread through my body. Fire, there was fire everywhere. It was an inferno devouring me alive, my shrieked echo in the room. My beseeching to stop the fire came to deaf ears.

I jolted awake as though shocked with electricity, out of breath and trembling. I gazed over at the clock, it read six PM. I leaned forward and turned the light on, the light blinding me. I squinted my eyes, my mind spun the dream or rather memory. Ire rose inside me, my fists clenched at my sides. I steadied my breathing, stumbled back, staring at the ceiling vacantly, my lips tightened.

The last thing, I heard was that the Authority moved their headquarters somewhere else. Are they afraid of us? Afraid that they know we could destroy the little empire of power? Standing up, I shook my head. I changed into black jeans, royal blue tank, black leather jacket, and my combat boots. My firearm holstered to my hip, a small wooden stake inside my boot and a small dagger in the other side. My hair braided to the side.

The house was utterly quiet, an odd sight. Kathy typically watched movies or bad reality TV shows. I looked for her in every room, but she wasn't in any room. I frowned; yank my iPhone from my inner coat of my jacket. It was Saturday; she wasn't going to school Monday. I tracked her phone.

A red dot flashed in my screen of my iPhone, the screen zoomed in, and the dot blinked speedily. Kathy had roved into town, without leaving a note. I shook my head, grab my keys from the bowl and walked to the garage. There were two cars in the garage, all in my favorite color, black. Yet, there were no missing keys; the keys of Aston Martin and Tesla Model S key were hooked on the hook. I hopped into my Jaguar and roamed into town, following the directions in my iPhone.

It took ten minutes to found the restaurant. I had probably had broken a few speed limits, but I frequently did not care. The sign of the bar and grill flashed. I parked behind a beat-up yellow car. The place was called Merlotte's. I stayed inside the car blending into the darkness of the parking lot, watching Kathy through the window. She was chattering with a redhead young girl. I concentrated in their mouths.

_"So, you're going to Bon Temps high school?" _Redhead tapped her notepad nervously.

_"Yeah, I started Monday." _Kathy smirked friendly_._

_"That's good, there's a party, come and I will show you to a few guys I know from Bon Temps high school, they are cool ... for humans."_

_"That could be lovely, Jessica." _

A vampire? Kathy was speaking with a vampire, knowing she could be easily glamour to do things that she couldn't stop. I slammed the car's door outraged. I didn't hate vampires ... I just dislike them and supernatural creatures. Death Dealers weren't supernatural, just humans born different and without difficulty to glamour them. This wasn't our world to take, it was for humans to live without fear, but that was impossible, monsters lurked in every place, I knew that. I had seen it, humans doing atrocious things to get an easy life.

The restaurant door closed behind me. A few folks regarded me with curious eyes like I was a bizarre animal that had walked into their safe heaven, others kept to their business. The place was full, men at back played pool with beers while teenagers and seniors hang out in the other side of the booths. I disregarded them and strode to Kathy's booth with an unwavering gaze. The redhead girl stared at me, and Kathy flinched when she saw me, but beamed. I flopped into the booth. Kathy's dish was clean, the smoothie half downed.

"Hi, my name is Jessica." The redhead girl said beaming. "Do you want to order or want to look the menu?" She was well controlled from a vampire, but I could still see she was a baby vamp. Most baby vampires or older vampires had a hard time control themselves when they sensed virgin blood like Kathy's. But her gazed darkened a bit as her nostril jerked sniffing my aroma, tempting her, now she was effortlessly becoming the prey.

Inwardly, I groaned. _Dang you, Authority!_ I shook my head, making eye contact with her. "No, thank you. If I need anything, I will call you, leave please." I murmured courteously.

Jessica beamed, but her eyes betrayed her. Her eyes blaze with anger. "Fine," she sauntered off; she peered over her shoulder and gestured goodbye at Kathy, disappeared to what I guess was the bathroom or the break room.

"What was that?" Kathy whispered.

"_Baszd_," I shook my head. Kathy arched her eyebrow, she hated when I spoke in other language and she didn't understand.

"You are annoyed."

I tilted my head, laughed quietly. "I am not angry. Why should I be angry? I am not your teacher any longer, Kathy." I leaned in, utter. Three women, a blond, another redhead and African-American behind the bar counter stared at us, and a man behind them with a rag draped over his shoulder. "Whatever you choose to do is up to you, it's not my business."

"It's a small town, Esme…"

I shook my head once again, "_Il n'est pas sûr de parler ici,_" I spoke to her the only language she mastered. "_Nous parlerons arrivant à la maison."_

Kathy gazed at the bar counter, though blond and African-American women aren't there anymore. She nodded, lowering her eyes to the table. "_Très bien."_

I threw a few bills into the table and walked out the restaurant, Kathy sauntered behind me. The parking lot was desert, excepted from the blond girl and African-American woman with a vampire with black spiky hair, his fangs glinted on the moonlight. Both women were clung to each other, fear in their faces. They were evidently silly humans acting brave to a vampire that would snap their necks with a twig. I ignored that warned of danger and save the humans, overlooked the problem to not lure attention to us. I unlocked the car and climbed in. Kathy mounted in ten seconds later.

I backed off the parking lot and drove into the land road. It took three minutes for Kathy to voice what we had seen. "You aren't gonna do something?"

"About what?"

"The girls," she paused, "and the vampire. They need help."

I gazed at her, stopping at stop sign. "We can't get involved with anything or anyone here. Or lure attention to us in any way," I said clearly, hoping that my words crossed that stubborn mind of hers.

She opened and closed her mouth. After she gathered her thoughts, she said: "You always speak that we are here to protect humans and you aren't going to help two helpless women? How would you live with yourself knowing can you protect them?"

_Ouch_. That was like a punched in the face. My hands clenched in the steering wheel, I resumed my eyes to the road and drove. "I can't save everyone and I won't play "Saving Helpless Humans in Distress" all the time, Kathy. And, you don't get involve with a vampire and his pet. Vampires are possessive of their pets."

"Did that looked like one of them belong to him?" She asked gently. The scene with both women and Kathy's words spun in my head over and over. I don't know what brought to do what I did next, when somewhere in other parts of the world other misfortune humans would face the same death. Sighing, I did an illegal u-turned, glad that nobody was driving at this time and drove back to the restaurant.


	4. THREE

**• THREE •**

_Be a shadow, Esmeralda. Can you be a shadow, Esmeralda? _That was one of my first lessons in the Authority, become unseen, invisible by threats. I stood behind brushes, thirty feet away from the vampire and both women, my hands inside the pockets of my jacket. Kathy stood next to me, shuddering from the faintly crisp air.

I pondered my plan, seizing up the vampire, Death Dealers couldn't tell the age of vampires and to me, and he appeared old. There were three selections in my plan; shoot him with filled silver bullets or stake him, freezed him to death, but I couldn't do any of the above. I groaned at my latter possibility, tempted him away from the humans, taught to do with hard jobs. _Use your beauty as your advantage. You would be surprise how easily men, even vampires, fall for beautiful women._ Mikael had told me when we worked in London.

I requested the air for information. It took a few seconds to get a read; menace came from the vampire and fear from both women. "Kathy," I whispered. She jumped a mile. I stuck my arm out to steady her, no twigs broke. Good. "Be quiet." I mouthed, she nodded. "How did you get here?"

"Taxi."

"Good, go inside the restaurant, call a taxi and go home."

"Do you need help? I can help you."

"No, I don't need help." I gazed at her. The danger grew in the air, I need to act. The vampire was going too snapped very soon.

She didn't speak. She looked down at her hands, speechless. "It will come to that one day. You and I know it."

I paused, my eyes resumed to the vampire. Angry rose inside me at her words, the temperature dropped a few notches, but my voice was smooth. "Kathy." I watched her round the road that led to the restaurant.

As the heat conversation grew, I learned the human's names, Sookie and Tara. I stopped behind a tree, becoming still with the darkness. Marvelously, the vampire didn't notice me. He wore black clothes, and vampire usually choice dark colors, with boots.

"I am not yours! Son of a bitch!" Tara shouted, her breath whispered fear and fury. Every breath she took was like a punched in the guts, the vampire had her against her will.

My hands tightened at my sides. _Stupid bastard!_ I zipped down the jacket zipper, showing a little of cleavage, step out the darkness, before the situation got out of control. "Is everything okay here?" I feigned a nervous smile at the vampire, yet seductive. The vampire was fortunate that two humans were here, or he could have a wooden stake through his heart.

Both women regarded me surprise. Their vigilant eyes traveled up and down, I overlook them and kept my eyes on the predator and his threat. The vampire eyes glare with hunger, he didn't display fangs. I retained my eyes with his. I watched his nostril twitched as sniffing my blood streaming through my veins. His lips parted, and his fangs length and click to kill.

Sookie saw the change in the vampire, the air understood her muddle, and she didn't know the change. Tara didn't notice. I watch as his demon battled what to do, feed in front of two humans or save it for it later. The vampire gave me a once-over with lusty eyes, now I wish I had my wooden stake out.

The vampire decided for the latter option. The vampire restrained me into a tree and out of sight of Tara and Sookie. Such movement made me yelped, surprise. I wasn't expecting him to attack me openly with two humans witnessing it. The gun in my hip, dug into my back. And, it hurt. A lot.

The air reformed, power streamed through my veins as I ask the air around to protect me. A shield of power with a light gold around it, move everywhere me. It grew and grew around me; it stopped until the protection shield surrounded my body. The vampire didn't feel the change in the air or the change in my face. I didn't ask the air a lot of power, collapsing in front of vampire wasn't a brilliant idea. I could feel my blood dropping, my system need sugar promptly.

He sniffed my hair. "You smell good." His hand tightened my throat, snarling. I was going to let him had the upper hand for a while. He displayed his fangs, treacherously closed. "I will relish killing you."

Sookie or Tara weren't coming. Their voices at the edge of the forest, and calling someone else, a male named was call out. Sam. They were looking for me. Why would strangers worry about another stranger? I was nothing to them. I blocked them out, but let the air speak for me that was blowing around me.

I skip the beseeching for my life and the tears. I chuckled in its place, he arched his eyebrow baffled. His hand clutched my throat. "Before you kill me, I just want to ..." that bastard didn't let me talk, he slammed my head into the tree, it hurt like a bitch. Now, I was mad, leafs churned beneath my feet.

"I don't fucking care what you have to say, Human." The vampire attacked, his fangs stopped mere inches from my face. My leer widened at his puzzled look.

I outstretched my hand, flung him into the tree with a light bang with a flick of my hand. "Sorry to sadden you, leech, but I am not an ordinary human." I got off the tree, smooth out my jacket. I spun when he tried to get up; outstretched my hand and restrained the vampire back.

He struggled to break free from my control he was under. "Telekinesis," he said, still struggling.

I sneered. Fear and shock breathe through the air. "Don't fear me, I usually don't kill vampires without having a reason, but I think you did something to that human ... Tara." I nodded behind me to the restaurant. "So ... help me understand this, okay? Was she willing in this relationship?"

"Fuck you." His eyes glow with hatred. We stood staring each other for a long moment. I inhaled; I couldn't risk being seeing killing a vampire, so I control my anger. And, then I felt it.

Someone was coming, and approaching fast. Four different footfalls that much the air told me. I couldn't tell who they are, but I had a hunch. _Goodie_! "Someone is crashing our party," I said, feeling their footfalls getting closer to us. "Sorry, I was enjoying our conversion, leech, but I have a role to play," I flung him again, he growled.

I walked back into the tree, detained the vampire in front of me, with a flicked of my finger the vampire fangs sank into my neck. I gasped, it hurt. He growled when he savored my blood in his tongue, he tried to sink deeper his fangs. Sookie, Tara, and two men found us. One man was wielding a shotgun and ordered Franklin to step back.

The vampire didn't move. I didn't let him moved. "Fine, motherfucker!" He shouted, firing his gun with wood-stake bullets. The vampire exploded with blood and guts. Blood sodden my clothes and caked into my face. I swiped my jacket sleeve over my face. _Heck_!

Sookie was waiting for me when I stepped out of the bathroom. We had round the restaurant, so the customers didn't see me all bloody and with guts. Sam loaned out a uniform shirt with Merlotte's logo and black short-shorts. My old clothes inside a plastic bag, her boss Sam was waiting there too, with Jason and Tara. I had overheard Jason name in Sookie and Tara conversation.

"What a night." Sookie mumbled, her hand on her hip. "How are you?"

I let my hair fell to hide the small punctures of the fangs. My brain sluggish, I had drunk half of my flask, but still need more sugar. "Kate McGill," she nodded, her head was tilt to one side, her brow furrowed with bewilderment.

"Sookie Stackhouse," she gestured to rest that stood on the hallway, "and this Tara Thornton, Sam Merlotte and my brother Jason."

I nodded. "It's a nice to meet you." I gazed around, smirking. "But I have to go."

"Will you be fine?" Sam asked to concern. His eyes settled where my hair covered the wounds.

I clinched the bag in my hand. "Yes, still a little shock from the attack. I will survive."

"See you around," Sookie was still puzzle over something. I didn't think about it much.

"Welcome to Bon Temps."

Kathy didn't ask questions when I returned home. I shower, scrubbing every inch of my body. I could almost feel the vampire blood. I changed into my nighties, an oversized tank and panties. With vampire blood stored in the safe-house, I heal the vampire fangs punctures. Kathy found me in the second floor. We stayed up late that night watching a movie, Some Like it Hot.

The week rolled in the days getting warmer and warmer. We had fallen into our new routine, when Kathy woke up, breakfast was ready, left to school and I went to bed, woke up at sunset, workout, and shower, and ate dinner, and we watch movies.

One Friday night, I found articles from Bon Temps newspaper about my disappearance. I stored them in my hard drive. The first one was on August 25th of 1995, the second on August 25th of 1998, and the third August 25th of 2003. Undecided, at first I clicked on the first article, scanned through it.

_Parents found death and children is missing_

_By Lee McCann_

_The small town of Bon Temps mourns over the death of Mr. Jared Knight and Mrs. Natalie Knight ... Peter Knight and Betty Lynn Knight both devastated about their loss of their son and sister-in-law, and now their grandchildren ... Officers are looking for any motive of the disappear the children, Esmeralda Fay Knight..._

Then I found something. A picture. Two people standing, the man's arm was around the female waist, both smiling amiably at the camera. Something clenched inside my chest. And, then a weird sound came from my mouth. A sobbed, something I hadn't heard in years. They are my parents. It was the first time that I saw them again, it was a picture, but it still hurt. I shut the lid of the laptop, silent tears streamed down my cheeks.

_Get it together you, wuss. _

There was a quiet knock at my door. I swiped the dampness from my cheeks with the sleeve of my sweater. "Wait a second." I rose to my feet, quietly walked to the bathroom and clean my face with cold water. I dried out my face with a bath towel, looked into the mirror and made sure there wasn't any hint that I was crying. "Come in."

Kathy gazed around the room, flapping into the bed with a sigh. If knew she I had cried, she didn't mention it. "There is something we need to talk about," she said austerely, avoiding my eyes.

"You aren't in drugs are you?" I slouched back into the chair, drumming my fingers in my belly.

"No. Jesus, no." Her eyes widened with shock.

"Okay, so what do you need?"

She bit her lower lip, uncertainly. "You know Hunter Savoy?"

After my rescued of Ms. Stackhouse and Ms. Thornton from the vampire, I searched them, hacking through things here and there to know everything about them. Kathy had told me that I knew a lot from people who I shouldn't need to know, but it was my agent inside that need precautions about everyone around us. I didn't find anything out the ordinary of Ms. Stackhouse, her brother, Mr. Merlotte, or Ms. Thornton.

I frowned. "Yes, Ms. Stackhouse cousin. What does Hunter Savoy has to do with this conversation?"

"Well, he's nice to me on the first day and during these days, so he asked Thursday if I wanted to go to a fundraiser that the school is hosting."

"And, I had told you many times now, you aren't my trainee anymore. You are free to do as you wish."

She nodded. "I know. The thing is that I said you will come too." She whispered, gazing at her black nails.

I scrubbed my face, upset. My voice came suave though. "You said what?"

"It's a good thing to get involved in this small community to keep the façade." She regarded me optimistic that she had done a good thing.

"Maybe you are right," I faltered, she gazed to the desk. "I am not a social person."

"Esme, it's good for you to go out of the house."

I weaved my hand to stopped her. "When is this fundraiser?"

"Tomorrow at ten am to seven pm." She whispered with a tiny smirked.

"I can make for a few hours."

She clapped eagerly. "Okay, night"

"Night."

I stirred up four hours unusual of my daily wake up before sunset. I did a quick workout, shower, ate in my nightie and changed into jeans, hunter green tank, and jacket with my hair down. With tone concealer I screened the tattoo on my wrist, just precarious. People would ask questions and to be honest I could never explain the tattoo on my wrist. Kathy's note was magnet in the refrigerator with an address.

The music and noise were overwhelming. I didn't know how this fundraiser helped the seniors in need. The park was full with people, crying children and happy children, teenagers shoving each other and playing the silly games lined in stands, food kiosks. It had a sign, "Annual Fundraising of Bon Temps" in a perfectly handwriting. I parked the car, paid for the parking and roamed inside.

My senses were open, the wind whispering through the air. It was easy not to call a lot of power, just the tiny bit to know things around me, but there was nothing that called my attention. The air reeked with glee, cologne, smells of food, but nothing of threat. I skimmed the mod, eyeing the kids, wondering if one of them was an evolved human. If so, what kind of ability they have? Invisibility? Time travel? Air control? Fire? How many kids where going to end up a Death Dealers? How many kids where going to have the life I and the others had?

People regarded me curiously as I walked to Kathy's food stand, "Grand's Pies". I was glad I had shades on, they couldn't see my evil glares. I recognized the two people behind the kiosk as Hunter Savoy and Mrs. Statehouse vending pies with Kathy. Sookie wasn't around nor Jason. Kathy looked up, saw me and beamed as I approached their kiosk.

"Hey," Kathy greeted, cheery, "Aunt Kate." Hunter and Mrs. Statehouse beamed, though Hunter had a puzzled look like he was trying to figure me out.

I took off my shades, stuck my hand out to Mrs. Statehouse. "My name is Kate McGill, Kathy's aunt."

"Loving to meet you," she smiled brightly, shaking my hand kindly. "My name is Adele Statehouse, and this is my great-grandson, Hunter Savoy."

"Nice to meet you both," I said with a smile.

The sun shortly died out, the fundraiser turned lights on. Sooke arrived with two boxes with pies. We had a friendly conversation, I kept up with her. Kathy pulled me aside, and gave a bottle of orange juice. She knew, I was using my power. Gratefully, I took the bottle offered. Sooke and Hunter once in a while gave me uncanny looks. Narrowly, I gazed at each other. Anger, woke inside me. How do they stare at me openly when I was standing here? They could act that aren't staring.

Fuming, I stormed out. I nearly snapped to demand what was their problem? I stopped at the edge of the park that led to the forest. I took deep breaths to calm down. In. Out. In. Out. I flopped into the bench, swallowing my juice. It wasn't helping.

_Behind you_.

The air spoke to me, I spun, my hand immediately went to snatch my gun, but stopped. A twig snapped and a vampire came to a stop. He wasn't old when he was turn, perhaps around his twenties. His honey hair wasn't out-of-place, blue eyes roamed up and down my body. He wore royal blue dress pants, black button t-shirt the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and shiny black shoes, from a designer perhaps. He looked like he had stepped out of runway. His musky scent drifted through the air.

I held my ground, my hand almost went for my gun again, but stopped. He wasn't attacking, his head slanted to one side. Something unusual happened, his eyes didn't flash with hunger. I stared at him some more, not knowing what to make out of this. He cleared his throat, maybe I had stared a _lot_.

"I didn't know that someone would meander this far from the party," he said. It was dark out here; the lights twinkled behind his head. He furrowed his brow. "Not a fan of publics."

I was brainteaser at the vampire. A vampire was speaking to me? They didn't care about humans, let at least talk to them well-behaved. So I lied. "No, the music is giving me headache."

"The music is a bit loud. Not my favorite of music to listen to either."

"I really don't have anything to say about this music, but I will have to say this, the music from the past was much better."

His hands vanished inside the pockets of his jeans. He shrugged one shoulder. "Music change all the time."

"Right. What kind of music you listen to?" I ask, interested in his answer.

"Old."

"How old?"

"Very old."

"That's not an answer. 50s? 60s? 70s? 80s? 90s? Or older?"

He beamed drolly. We stared at each other for a moment. He furrowed his brow. "Older."

I huffed. "Well, I can't think of anything older." My brain spun with music. I couldn't come with something older. I had to check things out or read a book.

"Do you have a name?" His question startled me.

I bit out a cursed. Now he wanted to know my name to leave me to death. My hands tightened at my sides. "Yes, I have two in fact."

He regarded me amused. Maybe he couldn't believe that a human was talking him with such boldness. My phone chimed. I yanked my iPhone from my coat of my jacket. A text message from Kathy, another chimed.

_Where are you?_

_Esme, where are yo_u?

I tapped a quick text back.

_Slightly headache.  
Give me five minutes_.

I didn't say anything to the vampire. I walked past him and into the fundraiser, as I strode away I felt his eyes on my back. Still, I marveled about his name as I sauntered back to Grand's Pie.


End file.
